Former Pirates Return to Honor Memory of "Coach Dag"

The Blue Hill Golf Course served as the site for the 19^th annual Julius D’Agostino (Coach Dag) Memorial Golf Tournament Thursday as many of his “kids” returned to honor a man who meant so much to all of them.  

The former Pirates celebrated the life of the long-time Pearl River High School wrestling coach and teacher and renewed acquaintances with old friends. D’Agostino coached and taught for over 30 years in Pearl River before his death in 1993. 

“Today means everything," said D'Agostino's wife, Helen. "He influenced so many lives. I always say I have a thousand sons and daughters.  It is just so wonderful.  They are all my family.

“Today is not to talk about wins or losses but what the coach did for his kids.  He had a way with kids.  He taught them how to be men and women.  He taught them lessons in life.  I still get calls from many of them.”

John Scanlan (PRHS 1969) made the trip in from Pittsburgh

“(I came) because Julius D’Agostino was my mentor," Scanlan said. "My mother was a single mom and he helped raise me.  He introduced me to wrestling in the sixth grade. I worked for him every summer at the Nyack Swim Club.

“I am here to honor his memory and to raise money for scholarships awarded in his memory. Julius D’Agostino was top notch and it is an honor to get to hang out with friends from high school.”

Bill (Gibby) Sweet (PRHS 1968) resides in Orangeburg and is instrumental in putting this annual event together.

“Coach Dag was a great inspirational leader and motivator," Sweet said. "A true leader and a great coach who never wrestled himself but succeeded because of his great leadership abilities. We work to keep everything going in his memory and to give out these scholarships.”

His brother, Ted Sweet (PRHS 1976) added, “I’m here to support a good cause.  Coach Dag was instrumental to a lot of young men’s lives.  I wrestled during the heyday of PSAL wrestling in Rockland
County.”

The Lynn brothers also wrestled for Coach D’Agostino in the 1970’s. 

“I am here in honor of Coach Dag the best coach that I have ever had in wrestling," said Mike Lynn, a 1974 graduate. "We get to celebrate Coach Dag’s life and the experiences that we had.” 

His brother Tom (PRHS 1976) added, “This is a day to remember Coach Dag and to see old wrestling buddies.  Keep a good memory alive.”

Helen D’Agostino related a particularly poignant story about her husband and one of his wrestlers. 

“Phil Donnelly is here today," Helen D'Agostino said. "In the last year of his life, my husband kept coaching and he was very close with Phil.  He said that watching Phil wrestle kept him alive another year.”

“He was my coach from the time that I was nine years old," Donnelly said.  "He taught me how to wrestle.  He was a guy you heard about
before you met him and you couldn’t believe how intense he was.  I first learned from him when he was a coach and teacher at the middle school.

“I am here today to remember Coach Dag and to thank him in some way for meeting my wife.  We met six years ago at this tournament. It is also a great opportunity to remember the final years of his life and what a great man he was.  So many of us became successful because of the work ethic he instilled in us.  He would always say at practice, 'How you work here today and the dedication that you show will carry over for the rest of your life.  If you quit here you will quit on yourself for the rest of your life.'”

Ryan Miller, a senior at Suffern High School, won the golf tournament. 

In the Calloway Scoring competition former Pirate golfer Billy Allen took top honors, Pat Pierson was second and Tom Prestina finished third.